


kih bal shuk'la, a'su jate

by sailingthenightsea



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Found Family, Mandalorian Adoption (Star Wars), Mando'a, Reunion, and he got boo from both cara and din's head, bc i'm a nerdddd, boo means buir btw he's a baby tho, but din's loud w his adoption fever so it was hardly poking around, ch16 prediction sorta, din absolutely eviscerated moff gideon :), din djarin gets his hug, doing something important somewhere else, everyone on the ship is dead except our ppl so no big, grogu totally communicates via the force and din is chill w it, it's his baby he's not worried, ngl i just needed more family fluff, they VIBING, where is everyone else? idk, yes it's really short but it's so good pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:00:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28122003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailingthenightsea/pseuds/sailingthenightsea
Summary: He knew it in the belly ofSlave I, clinging to a little metal ball and the last shred of himself. He knew it as he searched for ajetiiand he knew it the day he risked everything to get him back from the client.If he’s being honest, he knew it from that very first meeting, the day he saw the kid and felt the same wash of emotion he had felt the day hisbuirrescued him reflected back in those wide eyes.
Relationships: Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) & Din Djarin
Comments: 18
Kudos: 172





	kih bal shuk'la, a'su jate

**Author's Note:**

> title translates to "little and broken, but still good"
> 
> lightly connected to my other fic [k'taylir gar a'den, gar kar'ta](https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/68632260?show_comments=true&view_full_work=false#main) but can be read on its own

It’s incredible how small this child is, _his_ child is. His head fits into the palm of Din’s gloved hand.

Later, he thinks, later, later. Later, he will see if the fit is the same without the gloves. Later, he will see if the world is any different after the weight of the words on his shoulders is relieved, taken off and laid down.

He wonders, half mad and half awed, if the beskar is the last thing holding him together. He wonders and he imagines he is a galaxy with paper skin, this sun, this star between his lungs, this love, it feels like bleeding edges, like watercolors spreading across an empty page.

Grogu shifts in his sleep, curling up, pressing closer to Din’s chestplate and Din Djarin is a father to the very core of himself. He knew it when he watched Moff Gideon choke on his own blood, watched the light fade as his final breaths rattled, caught, splattered little specks of scarlet onto Din’s helmet.

He knew it in the belly of _Slave I_ , clinging to a little metal ball and the last shred of himself. He knew it as he searched for a _jetii_ and he knew it the day he risked everything to get him back from the client.

If he’s being honest, he knew it from that very first meeting, the day he saw the kid and felt the same wash of emotion he had felt the day his _buir_ rescued him reflected back in those wide eyes.

The alarms are still screaming, red lights flashing warnings to soldiers that all lie dead if they’re lucky or dying if they aren’t. Broken off pieces of white armor crack under his boots. He steps over an arm, still outstretched, reaching for a blaster that was too far away to save them.

_He means more to me than you will ever know._

An irritated grumble tears all of Din’s attention away from his surroundings. Grogu has his eyes screwed shut at the flashing lights and his ears are down and back in the same way he does when Din tries to bathe him.

“Hey, there,” Din says softly, softer than he maybe ever has. He knows he sounds a little wrecked, a little destroyed, but he thinks he is owed that much.

Grogu makes a strangled gasping noise and his big wide eyes fly open as he searches for Din. Against his mind, there are waves of heartbreak and relief and love crashing. It’s too much, but it’s also perfect and everything and god, thank _god_ his child, his baby, his _ad_ is okay, is safe.

The kid scrambles up his chest and presses himself into Din’s neck, his skin warm even through the thick fabric. Din keeps a hand against his trembling back, rubbing soothing circles when Grogu starts to cry. It’s a small hiccuping sound, and every hitching sob breaks Din’s heart a little more.

“Hey, hey, hey, shhhhh,” he murmurs, “I know, I know, I’m right here, I missed you too, Grogu.”

 _Home._ The thought isn’t his and it’s a little surprising, the force of it, the clarity that had never been present with the feelings Grogu had shared before. It’s enough to make his steps falter.

“I,” he starts, but he doesn’t know what to say. It’s a few moments of walking silently through the dark ship towards Fett’s ship, docked on the opposite end to where Grogu had been held, before Din begins again. “The _Crest_ is gone, _ad’ika_. It’s- _Ni ceta_ , I know you liked it, loved it. And all your little toys, gods, _ni ceta_ , Grogu. _Ori’haat ni cuy’slana narir jate’shya_.”

Grogu makes a small mournful sound, but he doesn’t start to cry again, just digs his claws into the thick fabric and sniffs against Din’s neck.

“But you and me, kid, we’re gonna be okay. I’ve got you and I’m not going anywhere.”

 _Want you_ , what Din is coming to recognize as Grogu’s voice echoes in his mind. _Want you, want you, want you, want you._

Din laughs and it’s soft and it’s fond. “You’ve got me, okay? I’m right here. _Gar cuyi ner aliit_. Clan, family.”

“Boo,” Grogu mumbles into his shirt. “Boo, Boo, Boo.”

Din sighs and he smiles under his helmet. “Feel like you definitely got that from either poking around in my head or Cara.”

He doesn’t reply, just snuggles closer as Din walks.

“Neither of which are _great_ , but that was really kriffing cute, so it’s excused.”

“Boo,” he replies.

“Yeah,” Din says. “Yeah, I guess now’s as good a time as any, huh?”

He wanted it to be in the _Crest_. He wanted it to be when they were both safe and not in the heat of a battle or between jobs while he was skipping rations so the kid could eat.

But now, walking through these empty halls littered with the bodies of the stormtroopers that _got in his way_ , he can’t imagine waiting a moment longer.

“Boo?”

“ _Ni kyr’tayl gai sa’ad_ ,” he vows, and he lifts his helmet up only enough to press his lips against his son’s head.

Grogu lets out a surprised sound, looking up sharply, eyes wide, as Din lowers his helmet once more. He coos softly, curious, reaching for the edge of the helmet. His claws _tink_ gently against the metal.

“ _Ni kar’tayli darasuum gar_ ,” Din says softly, quietly. “I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

>  _ori’haat ni cuy’ slana narir jate’shya_ / i swear i'm going to do better  
>  _gar cuyi ner aliit_ / you’re my family (clan)  
>  _ni kyr’tayl gai sa’ad_ / i know your name as my child (adoption vow)  
>  _ni kar’tayli darasuum gar_ / i love you
> 
> hope you enjoyed!! i had a blast writing them again <3 comments and kudos are greatly appreciated :)


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